richard5933

You don't have a four corner weight, so you'll be somewhat guessing. Based on Roger's advice in this type of situation use 53% of the total axle weight as the weight of each end (assuming that one end is going to be heavier than the other). http://www.rvtiresafety.net/2018/11/setting-tire-pressures-on-cold-days.html Use that number to calculate the minimum pressure. Then, add a 10% buffer to the minimum pressure to obtain the cold inflation pressure you're going to use. In your case, that would be 9220 x .53 = 4887 for each of the front wheels. The Michelin chart shows a minimum pressure of 100 psi, and with the extra 10% that makes 110 psi for cold inflation pressure. The rear axle would be 17,160 x .53 = 9095 for each axle end. The chart shows 105 psi, and with the extra 10% you've got about 115 psi as cold inflation pressure for the rears. It's late though, so please double check the math before using these numbers.

Don't know about any inverter other than ours, but if the physical power button on the inverter itself is in the 'on' position there is a power draw from the batteries. It's what allows the control panel upstairs to be able to communicate with the inverter and remotely control what's going on. According to the manual on my inverter it draws <1 amp in this type of situation. Not enough to be concerned for a short time period, but if I'm leaving the coach for a week or longer there is no need to have it drawing anything from the batteries. The remote battery switch, on the other hand, draws 0 amps during idle times.

I installed a remote battery switch between out inverter and our battery bank. When we're not using the coach I can disable the inverter from inside the coach. Simple push of the button upstairs, and the remote battery switch reconnects things. The Blue Sea switch is rated for 500A, and it sure saves crawling around down below when I want to turn the inverter on/off. Just offering this as a possible solution if the inverter is found to be the problem. https://www.bluesea.com/products/7700/ML-RBS_Remote_Battery_Switch_with_Manual_Control_-_12V_DC_500A

Once you have the hose and/or part number, you can also go to a local radiator shop that specializes in truck radiators. They will have contacts and supply sources different from those at the Freightliner dealer's repair center. If they can't find the exact hose, they should be able to make one from pieces that will work. It's just plumbing, and there are endless possibilities for someone with the knowledge, skill, and desire to get the job done.

Do you have the part number that they are looking for? If so, you might be able to find one yourself by searching online. When they said that the part is no longer available, that only means that it's not available through their parts suppliers and resources. I guarantee that this is more important to you than it is to them, and that you are more inclined to spend the time necessary to find the part. I'd put money that there is a radiator hose hanging in a parts warehouse somewhere that will fit your rig. Post the part number here and maybe someone will have luck helping you find one.

Do the math on the total capacity though - sometimes you get much more bang for the buck with four 6-volt batteries over two 12-volt. To calculate amp-hour capacity on a four battery series/parallel 6v setup you multiple the capacity of one 6v battery x2. The 12v system is just the two 12v batteries added together.

On many engines they don't use a single-piece radiator hose - they have rubber hose on each end that make up the bend(s), and then the center straight portion is made of metal tubing of the correct diameter. Maybe something can be fabricated like this for your engine. What I don't understand is why the shop isn't being at least a little creative on this one. Usually these guys are pretty good at coming up with solutions to problems like this.

Two thoughts... The Schumacher chargers can sometimes be pretty basic units. The output in maintenance mode may only be a few amps, but it's the voltage output level that's most important as too high of a voltage for long-term storage can damage batteries. Why not just use the on-board battery charging system? If you only have a 15-amp outlet available where you store the coach, you can plug in with an adapter and then program your battery charging system to adjust to the lowered input. The Newmar battery management system has to be more advanced that the Schumacher. From this thread and the other similar threads, it sounds like some coaches have considerable draw on the house batteries even when the switch is in the 'off' position. Perhaps it would be wise to install a manual battery disconnect switch on the positive lead out of the battery bank for those times when it's desired to fully power the system down, such as when being stored without the ability to keep a charger powered on. Blue Sea makes some high-capacity switches which are very nice - I've got one installed immediately next to our battery bank and it gets used when a full shut-down is necessary.

I found a replacement for the crank reset button. I'll change it out and see how things go. Otherwise, this old generator might last us another season or more. I think that once I change out the fuel lift pump (low pressure pump) I'll have all the drips taken care of for now, at least until the next one pops up. Boy, do these old Perkins love to drip.

I don't even let the guys at the shop drive mine until I know for sure that they can drive the old-school 4-speed. No way I'd let a teenager year old drive any Class A. Maybe after a few years driving smaller and more predictable vehicles. That said, if they are licensed and along on trips I do believe that they should have a working knowledge of how to operate the controls and to move it in case of emergency.

I'd be curious to learn what was drawing on the batteries despite your having disconnected them. Two weeks is awfully quick for batteries to go dead on their own.

You could also take a length of heater hose and slice one side of it open lengthwise - then just slip it over the positive bus bar and hold in place with some zip ties. Would add a measure of safety. If that were mine, eventually I'd drop something on it that would cause some fireworks.

There's a nice little campground just south of Rochester. We used it for a one-night stop on the way to Gillette WY last year. It's called AutumnWoods. Rochester is near Minneapolis, but much less congested and easier to get around.

More unsettling is that you really won't know when you have an actual problem on your hands since you're becoming accustomed to hearing the false alarms. Do you have a mechanical gauge for your air system? Or some way to verify the actual pressure at the time the alarm is screaming at you? If you do and the pressure is holding at the proper level, then I'd suspect that you either have a failing sensor or a failing conductor/connector. You could have a wire which is separating from the connector on the end, and when you hit a bump or the suspension moves in a certain way it puts enough tension on it to separate the connection. The fact that your reading seems to jump back and forth when you have the issue leads me towards an intermittent connection problem. Perhaps you can check the connections/wiring again. Only this time, have someone watch the reading inside while you go outside and jiggle and pull on every wire and connector you can find that is related. Just be sure to stay safe if you have to get under the coach to do this by properly supporting the coach first.

Ask most bus conversion owners about over heating and/or under powered engines, and the most common solution is to slow down, especially when driving up and down grades. With a rig that weighs 33,000 lbs, it may not be possible to always keep up with the cars on the road.

That would be true if he dumps the front as well. Otherwise precautions are in order.

Seems to be a relay (1TS) with a heat coil in it. Three things can provide the ground connection to the relay: oil pressure sender, water temp sender, and CC relay. Checking with a Kohler shop on the east coast, I was told it could be a bad 1TS relay, bad CC relay, or bad sender. Only the senders are a available through normal retail channels.

It's great when something works out like this. This kind of repair is why we carry basic electrical repair parts/tools in our spares kit.

Riverbend - Welcome to the forum. When you get a minute please add a little information to your signature, like maybe a name and specs on your coach. What else did you have to change out when you went from AGM to lithium batteries? Was your charger/inverter/etc able to be reset to the lithium?

I've made some great progress on our generator, but there is still one issue left to resolve. I'm hoping that someone with more experience with these old beauties can help out. The generator is a Kohler 12.5RCOP67 spec 96562B powered by a Perkins. The generator is generally running fine. It puts out 120v @ 60hz, and the Perkins is running great now that I had the fuel injector pump rebuilt. The problem is that the cranking reset button pops after running it for a short while, as if the engine is overheating. The thermostat is new, the water pump has been replaced, the radiator is fine, and the unit will run for hours with temps steady at 160 degrees according to the gauge on the dash. Oil pressure seems to hold steady at 40+ and I’ve never seen it drop while the engine is running. I don’t think that there is an actual cooling problem or oil pressure problem with the engine, except for these momentary problems. Here’s what happened this past weekend – started the Perkins, it came to temp, ran at 160 degrees for about 10 minutes, then it shut down. I didn’t see the temp at the moment it shut down, but it had been fine just a few moments before. We had about a half-load on the generator when it shut down. Circuit breaker on gen controller never moved. I went to the controller and sure enough the red cranking reset button had popped out. Pushed it back in and the engine started right up and was at the proper temp. Ran for quite a while (an hour or so) after that with no problem. So, I’m wondering if the cranking reset button itself is going bad? Does this happen? Or is there some other issue which could cause the cranking reset button to pop out and shut down the generator.

Have you tried to plug into another outlet at the house? If something tripped the GFCI breaker/outlet, you might have a problem with that outlet even after resetting it. If you are not plugged in, and with your generator off, do you have 12v power at all in the coach? You should still have 12v power when you're unplugged unless your batteries have gone dead.

Eddy - Welcome to the forum! Please remember to not ever get under your coach unless it's properly blocked & supported. You don't want to be under there when the coach suddenly drops, and if you are having air suspension problems it's even more likely than normal. Leveling jacks are not considered to be proper blocking/support. Hopefully your manual shows you the proper support points.

Have you cleaned and checked the connections? Sometime the problem can have a simple fix.

Good point about testing under load...Ohm meter might read absolute 0 at rest, as there may be enough of a ground to the little current used by the Ohm meter. Try and start the engine, and things are much different. That might show where the fault is. I'd still want to do a thorough physical examination - I've seen too many cables that looked great but had considerable amount of the conductors rotted away inside the housing.

Is this the same pedestal you had trouble with back in April or are you at a new site now?